Cost Cutters Fix Sights on F-35 Fighter

By

Nathan Hodge

Updated Dec. 18, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is considering pulling back the Pentagon's commitment to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the costliest procurement project in the department's history, defense officials said.

At issue is how many of the supersonic, stealthy aircraft the U.S. is willing to buy, how much it will to pay for them and how long it will wait for them to enter service.

While the program isn't at risk of outright cancellation, a more exotic version of the aircraft is in the budget-cutting crosshairs. And with the Department of Defense putting the finishing touches on its fiscal-year 2012 budget request, and Washington in deficit-cutting mode, the decades-long, $382 billion tab is under close scrutiny.

"Secretary Gates and his team are in the midst of building the FY12 budget and, as part of that process, every program, including the Joint Strike Fighter, is being thoroughly scrutinized, but no decisions have been made yet," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell. "That said, the secretary remains committed to developing the JSF into the backbone of our tactical air fleet for decades to come."

The Joint Strike Fighter was envisioned as an affordable, versatile jet to replace a variety of aircraft currently in service with both U.S. and allied militaries. The U.S. has long-term plans to buy at least 2,400 aircraft; foreign partners are expected to buy hundreds more. But the program, like many technologically ambitious weapons-development programs, has been beset by cost overruns and schedule delays.

In early 2010, Mr. Gates ordered a complete revamp, firing the program manager, withholding more than $600 million from prime contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.LMT0.31% and reducing the Pentagon's planned purchase by 122 aircraft over five years. Despite the shake-up, top Pentagon officials remain frustrated with the program's progress.

"I won't conceal the fact that I haven't been happy with the performance overall of the Joint Strike Fighter program," said Pentagon procurement chief Ashton Carter at a Dec. 1 conference in New York.

Mr. Carter said the Pentagon estimates the planes will cost roughly $92 million apiece in 2002 dollars, the measure used by the Pentagon to track cost growth. The estimate is up from $50 million, and Mr. Carter said that price tag might "drive away" customers for the aircraft.

"We're not going to pay more for the airplane," he said. "There isn't going to be ever more money. And so we've got to get cost growth on the Joint Strike Fighter under control."

ENLARGE

Under particularly close scrutiny is the F-35B, the jump-jet version of the aircraft that can take off and land from improvised airstrips and amphibious ships, according to Gen. James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps wants the F-35B to replace three aircraft currently in its inventory: the F-18 Hornet, the AV-8B Harrier and the EA-6B Prowler. But the jump-jet version, which is able to hover and land vertically, faces some of the most significant technical hurdles.

In November, the co-chairmen of President Barack Obama's deficit panel recommended outright cancellation of the Marine Corps version. And in a sweeping review of its defense-spending priorities, the U.K. government recommended dropping the F-35B in favor of buying a less complex aircraft-carrier version.

Gen. Amos has urged Mr. Gates to spare the F-35B, also known as a short takeoff, vertical landing, or STOVL, aircraft. "I had an opportunity to sit down with the secretary of defense about 10 days, two weeks ago, and tell him about the importance of STOVL aviation for the United States," he told reporters Tuesday.

Describing the discussion as "my day in court," Gen. Amos said his briefing was "received positively" by Mr. Gates. But he acknowledged the F-35B has technical issues, particularly in the transition from horizontal to vertical flight.

"I would like to see it farther along in the test program," he said. "But we are where we are."

The Joint Strike Fighter is a particularly challenging program because contractors are building early versions and testing them at the same time. Lockheed said it is hitting targets for testing and development. The company announced Dec. 15 that the Joint Strike Fighter reached its goal of 394 test flights for 2010. Since the first flight of the aircraft in late 2006, the program has logged a total of 531 test flights.

J.D. McFarlan, Lockheed vice president of F-35 testing, said in a written statement that the Marine Corps variant is behind in testing. "While we are still behind on our overall STOVL variant testing, we are working through a plan to get us back on track."

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.